Memory Traces: Are Transformers Tulving Machines?

Memory traces–changes in the memory system that result from the perception and encoding of an event–were measured in pioneering studies by Endel Tulving and Michael J. Watkins in 1975 (Tulving and Watkins, 1975). These and further experiments informed the maturation of Tulving’s memory model, from the GAPS (General Abstract Processing System) to the SPI (Serial-Parallel Independent) model (Tulving, 1983). Having current top of the line LLMs revisit the original Tulving-Watkins tests may help in assessing whether foundation models completely instantiate or not this class of psychological models.